Uk Student Lights Up Indian Village With Solar Power

Nearly 100 homes in Uttar Pradesh’s Sarvantara village have been electrified, thanks to an initiative by a student from the UK’s prestigious Imperial College.

Clementine Chambon, a final year PhD student, has helped connect the homes with a mini eight-kWh solar energy grid via her social enterprise start-up company, Oorja.

The mini solar grid provides around 1,000 people with energy for affordable lighting, phone charging and fans to cool homes.

“We are delighted to see the smiles on the faces of our happy customers, to hear their reports of how electricity is allowing their children to study longer, and their hopes that a computer centre will be opened in the school so that students can learn how to use a computer,” said Chambon.

Like most hinterlands in India, majority of the population in Sarvantara are farmers. Chambon reckons her project will help fuel the farmers’ productivity.